Snow Drifts and Secrets
by bellalupus
Summary: Written for Eowyn77's Chalenge, "The Cullen Leak". Pre-Twilight. The Cullen's have a close call with one very observant teacher.


A/N: Wrote for Eowyn77's challenge, The Cullen Leak.

"Write a story about a time when the Cullens had to relocate because their secret got "leaked." Any length, any POV, any genre except lemons. Must be pre-Twilight. "

Summary: Set in Alaska, the Cullens have a close call with an observant teacher.

DISCLAIMER: Twilight and all it's charectors belong to the lovely S. Meyer.

* * *

It was the dead of winter. The never ceasing wind howled and banged against the small building. The conditions were so bad today, that the windows matched the white-washed walls. The swirling gusts of snow were so thick in the air that it was almost impossible to see even your own two feet. I watched the students rush in through the doors, their faces ruddy and bodies shaking from the cold. A small snow drift had begun to form in the threshold, to which the aged janitor was hurried to sweep away.

The bell shrieked loudly, signaling the students had about five or so minutes to arrive to class. Of course I was never one to mark a student tardy, especially not on a day like today. I opened the door to my classroom and shrugged off my winter coat, revealing a thick, cable sweater. Adjusting my glasses and setting the empty coffee mug down on my desk, I returned to the door to greet the small trickle of students entering the classroom.

"Good morning Mrs. Rader." A few greeted.

I smiled and welcomed them inside. As the clock ticked on, more students began to file in, one after another. With bright red cheeks and sniffling noses, the shivering high school seniors made their way into the old classroom.

There was a noisy radiator in the corner, trying its best to heat up the room. From the speaker above the door, a voice crackled to life;

"_Good morning! Today is January 18__th__ and it is currently7:32 A.M. Classes will be let out following lunch today, due to the increasing storm. Buses are being scheduled and following announcements, phones may be used to call home. That being said, you-"_

My mind trailed from the announcements as they walked in, three of the five. They were beautiful, of course, but something was strange about them. Their faces were flawless, pale-white porcelain, without an ounce of red staining their cheeks. They were so different, yet so vaguely alike. The two Hale twins of course shared a striking resemblance, but the brawny Cullen; Emmett also shared their perfectly angular features, the swirling amber eyes, and ghostly white skin, as did the younger two, Edward and Alice.

They struck me as identical, although they were all so completely, strangely different. Maybe I wouldn't be so concerned if they were actually related- but what are the chances that the five adopted children share the same features? And the parents too; I had seen them only once before on a parent/teacher conference night. They couldn't be much older than the kids; the two were most defiantly younger than my own children. And they too, Dr. Cullen and his wife, were the same, exactly the same as the others. It was all very queer to me, quite bizarre.

The announcements buzzed to an end, and I settled down into my desk to let the students talk for the remaining fifteen minutes of homeroom. I reached into a box of books that had been donated to the History department by the old library down the street. I was still deciding on whether or not to incorporate them into my lesson plan, and had decided to take advantage of this down time to examine them.

The cover was old and falling apart- the librarian who had donated them told us that the books were no longer in print, not surprising seeing that many of the facts it contained were no longer relevant. The title was simply _The Civil War_ and the authors name was missing from my copy.

I flipped the book open to a random page, and had begun to skim the first paragraph when I was interrupted by a soft knocking on the door. I stood and quickly looked at the students; who were all talking casually with each other. Laying the book gently on my desk, I walked as briskly as my aching joints would allow towards the door.

Beaming up at me was the tiny Cullen, Alice. Behind her, Edward leaned stiffly against the wall.

"Hi," She began, peering around me into the room. "I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to borrow my siblings for a minute."

I smiled and nodded, "Of course."

I watched them leave, marveling at the lovely scent that trailed behind them, and shut the door. I slowly walked back to my desk and quickly scanned the room once more to make sure the students were fine. I picked up my book again and let out a gasp. _It can't be…_

Centered on the page was an image of an all-too-familiar young man. He had slightly messy blond hair, and stood with a quiet confidence. I struggled to stop my hands from shaking, and hastily read the caption below-

_Major Jasper Whitlock, youngest major of the Confederate Army at 20 years old._

My eyes bulged out of my head, and I leapt from my desk with grace reminiscing that of my twenties. I yanked the door open and stumbled into the hallway gasping wildly, ignoring the incredulous stares from my students. But the hallway was empty, nothing left but the snow swirling from the wide open door.


End file.
